The FBI is seeking IT solutions from the public in regards to a social media application that will enable the bureau to zoom in on threats. The bureau states that it is seeking something that is "secure, lightweight and uses mashup technology." But you don’t have to take my word for it, for they are making no attempts at keeping this information classified.

So, are you a member of the IT industry with the problem-solving abilities that can assist a government agency monitor social media for threats? Can you develop a tool that meets the needs stated in this 12 page document and have your proposals ready before the end of this month? Then the FBI is looking for you! Please have your cost estimates included in with your proposals and submit your applications here.

In an RFI (News - Alert) that is filled with six pages of content, the FBI outlines their objectives, the criteria for the monitoring tool, and their reasons for why it is necessary. Here is an example of the details regarding Twitter (News - Alert) that is listed under the subcategory of “Twitter and other Social Networking Monitoring”:

Ability to instantly search and monitor key words and strings in all “publicly available” tweets across the Twitter Site and all “publicly available” social networking sites/forums (i.e. Facebook, MySpace (News - Alert), etc.).

It is interesting that “publicly available” is in quotations. Perhaps the FBI is sending a message that all data that is entered into social media sites has already been made public; therefore, filtering its content is not necessarily invading people’s privacy.

However, that reasoning is unlikely to appease privacy advocates who are undoubtedly exasperated after the censorship efforts of Homeland Security. Instead of focusing on the public’s objections, the fact that the RFI is thoroughly detailed and available to the public should be raising eyebrows as well.

Isn’t it strange that the FBI, an agency that has always maintained an image of being “top secret” is outlining to the public their strategies as far as tackling this project?

Sean Gourley, who heads Quid, offers NPR (News - Alert) an explanation. Smart people, like those in the IT world, don’t typically seek employment with the government.

"What that means is the top solutions to these kinds of problems don't actually lie within the government anymore; they actually start to lie in the startup companies," Gourley says. "So increasingly the government starts to turn to these groups to say, 'Can you help us solve these types of problems?' "

And since the RFI points out that, "Social media is rivaling 911 services in crisis response and reporting," perhaps this is indicative of how much government agencies are due for an upgrade.